Rail-joint.



W. F. KERR.

BAIL JOINT. nrmornon num oor. a, m1.

1,0583143. Patented Apr. 8, 1913.

will! will W.. AMIMM. D. G,

UNITED STATES WILLIAM F. KEER,

0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF T0 HANNAH C. HARDING, 0F -LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

RAIL-JOINT.

Speofoatloii of Letters Patent. Application tiled October 3',

Patented Api'. 8, 1913.

1911. semi No. esame To (1U 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, lViLmair citizen of the United States, residing at' Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angclcsl und- State of California, have invented new and useful improvements in Rail-Joints, ofA which the followiii is a specificatiom This invention re ates to improvements in chairs for railway joints, an( it is an ob-. ject of the invention to provide a rail i'e' ceiving chair formed with side flanges and bracing portions adapted to brace the head of the rails with respect to the base of the chair.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a rail joint securing means having a base plate an( side wedging flanges adapt# 'ed to engage the heads o the rails, the said flanges being provided with recesses for re ceiving and holding bonding pieces against the metal of the rails. i

In the accompanying drawing forming av part of this specification, Figure 1 is a pers )cctive view of a rail joint provided with t e improved chair. Fig. 2.is a'sectional view through the meeting ends of rails at a joint taken immediately below 'the heads F. Kran, a

of the rails and showing the side flanges or braces of the chair in top plan, a portion of one of the said side flanges or braces being broken away to show the base flanges of the rails. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the improved chair with the brace or side piece thereof removed. Fi 4 is a side elevation of the wedge 'shapedg removable side piece of the chair. Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section view taken through the chair at one side of the joint between the rails on the line 5-5 of Fifi. 2.

The details and features of the invention will now be more particularly described, reference being had to the said drawing in which- 1 indicates the base of the chair, 7 the fixed side or flange thereof and the removable wedge sliaped side or brace of the chair. The base portion 1 is made of suitable width to properly receive and support the base flanges of railroad rails 2 and 3 and is made of sufllcient length to reach from one tie to another as shown in Fig. 1 ot the drawing. The said base is also preferably provided upon its under surface with ribs or projections 4 adapted to bear against the adjacent. faces of the ties upon which the chair is mounted, so as to ropcrly space them and prevent the chair from slipping out of proper position thereon.

1` ie up er surface of the base 1 is provided witi an angular inwardlv exten( ingr portion or projection f), the said projection extending from the base to the flange or sidi` 7 of the chair. The said projection t) is preferably arranged at the ongitudinal center of the chair and the ends of thel rail flanges which are inserted in the chair are pre erably beveled at 11, so as to fit against said projection. The rejection is thus ca )able of preventing tie creeping of the rails in the chair and? also properly centers the rails with respect to said chair. 'lhe side walls of the chaii are so arranged as to otl`er inclined braces to the heads of the rails as clearly shown in Fig. 5 of the draw ing. The rails are thus connected at their meetinfr ends so as to afford thorough rigidit andD great strength at the meeting points ety the rails.

The removable side or wall 15 of the chair is preferably slightly tapered from one end toward the other as shown in Figs. 2 and 4 so that the said side portion must be inserted in place by pushing its smallest end between the base and the head of the rail first. The

base upon the open side of the chair is provided with a rounded edge flange, or bead 1G between which and the head of the rail the removable wedge shaped wall 15 is adapted to be slipped. The bracing position of the said wall 15 will be readily understood by reference to Figs. 1 and 5 of the drawin It will also be observed that the said wa 1 15 cannot escape from its position between the said flange 16 and the heads of the rails without being moved longitudinallyfroni such position. The inward longit-udinal movement of the wall 15 when it is being inserted in place, is limited h v means of a projection 9A, which is adapted to engage a correspondingly beveled surt'aei` 23, formed at one end of the rounded bead or flange 16. The chair is rovided with apert'iireslt) and 1 7 to receive spikes i'or securing it in place upon the ties and ila` wedge shaped wall 15, is also formed with ed re notches 18 ada ated to flt against onisic e of the spikes driven into the apertures` 17, whereby the wall is held against long'r tudinal movement after it has been pnt in place.

Sti

Insecuring rails together, especially for electric lines, the adjacent rails are usuallyl lbonded by belng connected with wire orI other conductors.l

These bonds are ordinarily exposed both to the action of the weather and to the tampering of unauthorized mrties. The chair is so constructed that the onds applied to the rails may be covered and protected. Thus the inner surface of the walls 7 and 1.5 are preferably formed with longitudinal grooves 12 and 20 adapted to afford a space between said walls and the webs of the rails for receiving the said bonds. The s )ace is usually made of such a size that the )onds will be tightly pressed against the rails and a pro er electric connection between the parts 1s thus assured. The said bonds are also protected against corrosion due to the action of the weather. Instead of )lacing the bonds in the usual position, a ond may also be placed in a groove 25 formed in the upper edge of the removable wedge shaped wall 15 and held by the same against the under Surface of the rail heads as clearly shown in Fir'. 5. A comparatively short bond can thus K'be made as effective as the longer bonds heretofore used and will be thoroughly rotected.

The chair thus providedp is admirably adapted to receiving the adjacent ends of rails to be united and forms a stift` strong joint. The rails while prevented from creeping by the projection 9 are however capable of expanding and contracting under the varying conditions of heat and cold without, :I

danger of breaking any of the parts. A roper bonding of the rails can a so be efected because of the forcing of the bonds against the rails by the insertion of the wed ing member 15.

l' hat I claim is:

A chair for rail joints, comprising an apertured base having an integral flange extendiner upwardly therefrom on one side ot' the rails and also having an inclined, convex bead having a beveled end upon the other side of the rails, an angular wedge provided with a concave groove adapted to fit upon said bead and bear against the adjacent heads ofthe rails, and coinciding notches on s'aid wedge to coincide with apertures in said base for receiving spikes to prevent the arts from slipping, an inclined faced projection on said base to engage the beveled edges'of the rail base, anc a limiting projection carried by said wedge and adapted to bear upon said beveled end of said bead for limiting the inward movement of the wedge when bein put in place.

In testimony w lereof I lave set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

VILLIAM F. KERR.

NVitnesses:

F. J. MCCLARY, ANTON GLoE'rzNEn, Jr.

copies ot this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

